Christian Recovery: The Battle of the Mind

If you have been a Christian for a while and still feel more connected to your old lifestyle, you have to turn that around. When you’re in the midst of your addictions, you will naturally feel more connected to like-minded people.

In your sin nature, you want to hang around people who are doing what you’re doing, or are worse than you. They make you feel better about yourself. No matter how crazy the environment gets, you would rather be with those who don’t appear to be judging you or limiting your behavior.

When Satan divides, he conquers. When you give in to your feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, or insecurities, you’re letting the devil win the battle of your mind. If you never get over believing that you don’t belong, you will never actually belong.          

We’re really proud of a friend of ours who constantly battles with insecurities. The way she has fought against the enemy’s plan to keep her separated from other church members is to admit when she is feeling unloved, neglected, or judged. When she confesses these things, she brings the dark parts of her mind to the light. This eliminates the power of the lie and allows her to have proper fellowship with Christians and with God.

This friend is an example of how Ephesians 5:8-11 works:  “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Like many others, our friend will most likely have to continue to counteract the thoughts in her mind. Eventually, her default mode will be who Christ says she is, not what her parents or other people have said about her at one time or another.

Fortunately, our friend has been willing to expose her weaknesses, which has helped keep her drug free for six years. What a great example of how to be accountable and vulnerable. She knows she belongs, even though she doesn’t always feel like it, and even when she feels separated and disconnected. 

We wish there were more like her in the world. We would be in the midst of a radical recovery revolution!

This article is an excerpt from the Christian recovery book titled "Follow The Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery." You can learn more about the ministry of The Solid Rock Road by visiting the recovery website www.thesolidrockroad.com. 

Addiction is Like Adultery

Addiction is like adultery. That's a bold statement to make, and yet I believe I have seen and heard enough to warrant such a thesis. As a counselor in a Christian recovery ministry, I'm still shocked by the selfish, untamed desire addicts have for their drug of choice.

Like an adulterer, an addict can't stop thinking about the substance they love and adore. They can't get enough, and the more they get, the more they want. Like an adulterer, an addict will lie incessantly to their wives and families in order to spend time with their lover -- the drug.

The lover has the addict's whole heart so that all thoughts and actions are focused away from all other things in their life. A fantasy world also begins. The vision and the yearning for the lover is on their mind at all times and even takes precedence over the needs of the children, their boss, their friends and all others.

The addict is so obsessed, he or she spends outrageous amounts of money on the lover and outrageous amounts of time figuring out how to be with the lover, please the lover, and have the lover please them.

This analogy could go on, but the point is, addiction is like adultery in that it destroys lives and is a major cause of separation and divorce.

Visit our website at www.thesolidrockroad.com or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad.

The Devil Has No Manners

As I was pondering the beauty of God and thinking about what a gentleman He is, I suddenly realized that the devil has no manners.

God is mannerly. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, we read about how he doesn't interfere when asked not to. We also read in the Bible that we are the ones who need to seek God. We are asked to pray, to read the Word, to go after God with all our hearts. God is always there for us, but He asks that we go to Him. Seeking God is then an act of love on our part.

On the other hand, the devil intrudes and infiltrates. He sees a small opening into our thoughts and lives, and he takes it. He is an opportunist, a thief, a stalker. The devil doesn't wait for his turn, nor is he ever silent. The devil lies non-stop and often gets louder when we ask him to stop.

The fact that the devil has no manners and is in our face helps to explain why people fall into temptation and why it's so hard to say no to drugs and alcohol. But armed with this knowledge, it is clear that Christians in recovery are wise to go hard after God.

We help Christians in addiction remember how to fight and win the battle for their souls by interacting with God. Visit our website at www.thesolidrockroad.com. You can also follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroadwww.twitter.com/solidrockroad and Facebook. Also, look for a book I've co-written called Follow the Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery.

God's Plan for Christian Recovery

It’s true that God performs miracles. I've witnessed many and have experienced more than I deserve. But if God isn’t giving you the miracle you've been pleading for, He has a different plan for you. God isn't worried about what you think about His plan, He does it knowing what's best for you and with a specific lesson in mind.

God does not want to be your situational rescuer, nor will he put a bandage on your gaping wound. God wants to change your life, to change your mind and to change your heart. Mostly God wants you to put Him first and to make Jesus the Lord of your life so that you can be complete in Him.

When you fully surrender, you’ll find the strength and courage you need to quit addictive and sinful behaviors. You won’t have to go into a treatment center or offer a lifelong commitment to a recovery organization. You won’t have to claim that you are an addict until the day you die. As the Bible says, you are changed; you are a new person in Christ.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/solidrockroad. And look for a book I've co-written called "Follow the Solid Rock Road: Pathway to Radical Recovery." It is coming out in Feb/March 2010.

The Value of Faith in Christian Recovery

No one can force truth down your throat, nor is God going to place a spiritual feeding tube in you. You have to want it and you have to get it yourself. The same is true for faith. You can hear about it, see that others have it, wish you had it and wonder why you don’t have enough of it, or you can go after faith with all your heart.

There’s plenty of spiritual food to go around. At church, your pastor is at the pulpit preaching his guts out. Your Bible is full of the inspired Word of God. If you have doubt, then you would be wise to become obsessed with scriptures about faith, the heroes of faith, and hang around people who consistently demonstrate faith.

Whether you lack faith, don’t fully understand Christian principles, or are just being stubborn, your only hope in overcoming your addictions and living a blessed life is to completely surrender to God.

You can resist all you want or complain about how your situation is harder or worse than everyone else’s, but God can’t be manipulated by your tears, fears, or false promises. And if you believe that your addiction is stronger than His power to set you free, then your message to the world is that Christ’s suffering on the cross was meaningless to you.